I often wonder what goes on when we do not have studnet’s blowing the whistle. All, professors are under increasing pressure to “help” students pass, so that graduation rates remain high. One easy way to bring down even more pressure, and identify yourself as a possible “problem,” is to hand out large numbers of failing grades. And one thing you definitely do not want to do in today’s environment, is to fail a disproportionate number of women or minority students.

A University of Akron professor sent an email Monday openly acknowledging that female students “may see their grades raised” to encourage them to study information sciences.

On Monday, a Reddit user leaked a screenshot of an email sent by Akron professor Liping Liu informing students their final grades may be raised a “level or two” if they are female as part of a “national movement to encourage female students to go to information sciences.”

Liu, in an email to The College Fix, claimed that his classes on average have “one or two female students” in a class of 20 to 30. According to Liu, the women are “not doing well” and would likely need to “repeat the courses or leave the program” without the boosted grades.

Liu referred to the grade alterations as part of an “experiment” to understand how to better motivate female students, adding that he’s abandoning the concept “for now.”

University Provost Rex Ramsier, in an email to The Fix, said that the university “does not discriminate on the basis of sex,” and verified that grades were not adjusted based on gender.

“While the professor’s stated intention of encouraging female students to go into the information sciences field may be laudable, his approach as described in his email was clearly unacceptable,” Ramsier said.